The Damaged Mortal and The Angry God
by Cassie's Bedlam
Summary: She was an angry but simple mortal, confined to a wheelchair. He was an angry and hurt God. He appeared in her apartment, she made him curious. He didn't mean to become fond of her, she disliked becoming fond of an alien. He promised to stay with her, she tried not to believe him. When he's about to go back home, and she appears, what can he say to her?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a challenge by Darkorclegirl about Loki coming to care for a damaged mortal. This is my first Avengers fic, hope you like it.**

* * *

Sometimes Katie Stone hated people. They were self-absorbed in their own problems and blind to anyone below their eye-level—as Katie knew first hand.

Being confined to a wheelchair kept one below most peoples' line of sight so they ignored said person—especially when the wheelchair is manual. When first Katie had been confined to a wheelchair—being shot in the spine hurts like hell by the way—her first wheelchair had been manual.

It was hard to get through the crowded streets of New York and Katie couldn't count the number of times she had almost been run over by some road-raged idiot or mad taxi driver, who always slammed on their horns to show how pissed off they were that some wheelchair bound woman wanted to cross the road. Bastards.

Like they owned the fuckin' street, there were crossings for a reason.

She had been stubborn and prideful at first—she had been a soldier after all. She kept her manual wheelchair longer than perhaps she should have—her electric wheelchair actually made people move now because she could and would run over their feet, which could and would break their toes—as it caused her such hassle getting around with people blocking her way.

Still, Katie was human and thus she felt lonely sometimes. Especially when all her friends were either overseas on another tour or rotting in the ground, her family dead and her neighbours were bastards. That didn't mean she wanted some stranger—with even stranger clothing—appearing in her apartment when she was watching one of her Hawaii Five-0 DVDs on one of her lazy days when she didn't even want to go outside the door to get any mail.

The gun that she kept strapped to her—she may not be able to walk, but she wasn't going to be completely defenceless, especially with her living in New York—was in her hand and pointed at the man as he turned to face her.

Green eyes followed the gun held in a steady hand up the toned bare arm to the heart-shaped face with fierce and focused blue eyes framed by pale-gold blonde strands.

"You know it's rude to enter someone's apartment without knocking first."

The line was stupid, she knew that. But Katie liked talking to fill any awkwardness, and was there anything more awkward than a man appearing out of nowhere in the middle of her apartment when she was still dressed in her sleeping shorts and tank-top? Because she didn't think so.

"My apologies." The stranger replied drily.

She eyed him; green eyes, slicked back longish black hair, pale skin and weird clothes that looked like what those weirdo aliens wore when they broke that little town in New Mexico. When she saw the news of that little event, she had been annoyed. Because really, did aliens really have nothing better to do than break towns? The world had enough problems with experiments going to hell, terrorists still being assholes and rich playboys making a metal suit to take out some of those terrorist assholes—they didn't need aliens wrecking the world as well.

"Alien?" She questioned.

"Asgardian."

"Any relation to the blonde muscle bound idiot that broke that town last year?"

He grimaced.

"Adopted brother, unfortunately."

"Sucks to be you."

"Very much."

There was a beat when they stared at each other silently.

"Are you here to kill me?" She asked, her head titled to one side. "Because I doubt you want a woman who can't walk under your crazy alien control."

His lips twitched.

"I'm not going to kill you." He reassured her.

Katie gave him a slight nod before tucking her gun away and waving a hand to the only armchair that she kept in her apartment in case someone actually visited her.

"Take a seat."

He did and she turned back to her TV—annoyed that she missed some of her show talking to an alien.

"You're remarkably calm." He commented, again interrupting her show.

"And I'm also trying to watch my show—we'll talk when it's finished."

Thankfully he remained quiet until the episode ended, briefly she considered watching the DVD till the end but decided to stop the DVD—she didn't want to be rude—and placed her Xbox controller on the table beside her before she twisted to face him.

"What's your name?" She asked, pursing her lips slightly before giving; "I'm Katie."

"Loki."

"God of Mischief and all that?"

"Yes."

"Any reason why you're in my apartment?"

"Not that I know of."

"You want to stay?"

Green eyes blinked in shock as he stared at her speechless.

Hah! She made a God speechless! How many people could say that?

"Excuse me?"

"Look, you appear in my apartment," she started as Loki watched her in bemusement, "not knowing why you are here, probably don't know anyone on this world, in weird ass clothes" she ignored his offended splutter "and it's not like I have a lot of people jumping to visit me, and I may like your alien company."

"I see." Loki blinked for a moment at the strange mortal in front of him. "If you insist."

Katie smirked at him before she turned her wheelchair to the kitchen area, throwing 'do you want a drink?' over her shoulder and deciding to get him one anyway as she rolled away from him.

Loki had never really spent time with any mortal, he still thought they were below him, but. But perhaps he would stay with this one, and see what made Thor so fond of them. He was curious, it's not like he was going to become fond of this damaged mortal. He wasn't Thor after all.


	2. Chapter 2

"Is there anything in your refrigerator unit that isn't take-out egg-fried rice?" Loki's disgusted voice called from where he was browsing in the fridge.

"We, lowly mortals, call it a fridge." Katie called back, ignoring his disgust on her favourite meal as she played KH2 on her old and beat up PS2 that she refused to give up. "I have orange juice, water, bread and butter—what more do you want?"

Sure the PS3 was supposedly so much better, but it was only the old models that would let her play her favourite PS2 games which she couldn't buy as she wasn't sure about buying used goods online. There was always a reason why they were selling it after all. Sony sucked for making so PS3s couldn't play PS2 games.

"Actual food?" He asked drily.

She just flipped him the bird as she waited for the new world to load, she could feel him glowering at her in response.

"Where's your money?"

"Why? Are you robbing me?" She asked as she paused the game, titling her head back against the back of her wheelchair to try and peer at him. "Because I don't know about where you come from, but its fuckin' illegal to steal someone's money here."

There was a long suffering sigh—which Katie didn't think was fair really. He had only been staying with her one night, so she didn't think he had gained the right to sigh like that at her yet. He was just being an asshole, she decided. An alien asshole at that.

"So I can buy you some proper food."

She twirled her chair around, wincing at the crash of her PS2 hitting the floor as she had forgot the controller was still on her lap when she turned, and stared at him.

Loki wasn't looking at her, he seemed to be looking at the PS2 and the blank image fixed on the TV.

"And I wondered where those dents and scratches came from." Loki mused to himself.

She glared.

"I'm not letting you out wearing those weird clothes." She ignored the 'Your clothes are weird' retort that it earned. "Plus I don't know what your alien mind thinks of as proper food."

"Anything that isn't the concoction you call egg-fried rice." He shot at her, annoyed.

He was sick of eating warmed up egg-fried rice which seemed to be the only thing that Katie ate. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sure, he had only been staying with the mortal for one night but he could see the writing on the wall—or the take-out boxes in the fridge as it were.

"There's nothing wrong with egg-fried rice!"

"It stinks!"

"Just because your alien noses thinks it stinks doesn't mean it does!"

"It can't be health for you!"

"Why the hell do you care? You're not my doctor!"

"I don't care! But since you insisted that I stay here with you, then I should be able to eat different food!"

"Insisted? I just pointed out that you know no one and have no where to stay! That's not fuckin' insisting you bastard!"

"I don't see how the question of my parentage is revaluated to this discussion."

"Are you shitting me?"

They glared at each other in silence for some moments.

Loki could foresee how the rest of his stay here would be until he was able to set his plan in motion. Arguments, horrible food and being stuck in a stuffy and sparsely furnished apartment. She had him sleeping in an armchair for Odin's sake! He was a prince of Asgard! Confined to sleeping on an armchair!

Truly Katie had shown him anything to make him regret what he was planning to unleash on her pitiful world. She was rude, argumentative with horrible taste in food—she reminded him of Thor and his friends. Though at least she wasn't a drunkard and did seem to actually think before she acted. Thankfully she had no arrogances—though he could do without her pointing out the fact he was an alien every time they fought like that made him wrong.

"Fine!" She threw up her hands with a huge sigh. "We'll get 'proper' food," He felt his eyebrow twitch as she pretended to shudder at the thought of proper food, "But you're not going out dressed like that and you're cooking."

"C-cooking?" Loki spluttered. "I'm a prince of Asgard! I don't cook!"

"And I can't stand so I can't cook!"

"What has your ability to stand have to do with your ability to cook?"

"The cooker and counters are too high for me to reach comfortably in my wheelchair!"

"You can use the microwave thing!"

"Only because of how close to the edge it is!"

There was brief moment when they tried to out glare each other.

Loki inwardly debated a moment—it was either he cooked or he continued to eat reheated egg-fried rice. Though he had never cooked before in his life, it would take that option than continue to it egg-fired rice. Cooking couldn't be too hard after all, the humans seemed to be able to do it. He was a God, he could cook.

"Fine." He gritted out, because he hated loosing. "I'll cook."

Katie beamed at him before she dropped the controller on the floor and began making her way to bedroom—to get dressed, he supposed.

"Shouldn't you fix your entrainment system?" Loki asked.

"You do it while I try to find you something to wear." She waved her free hand back at him.

"I'm not wearing your clothes!" Loki called to her before he made his way muttering to the TV and PS2—he remembered the buttons that Katie used to turn them both off and he righted the box on its shelf.

Loki was slightly disgusted in himself. This little mortal was turning him into her servant, he had barely spent time with her. He wouldn't let her put him in woman's clothes.

He ignored the curses coming from her room, she was probably struggling to get into those things she called jeans. He had asked the other day when she got dressed, why she didn't just wear a dress? It would be simpler to get on since she couldn't move her legs, and she seemed to have so much trouble with jeans and such.

Despite having to look up at him to speak, she managed to look down her nose at him as she told him simply 'I don't wear dresses.'

Fine, it wasn't like he was going to help the stubborn mortal get dressed because she was being difficult.

He caught the screw up hooded top she threw him and stared at it for a moment. It was obviously a man's top, it was a dark green with Army printed on it, and it seemed like it would fit him so he shrugged it on as he had long discarded his long jacket.

She was wearing a hooded top much like his though plain black, and had somehow forced herself into a pair of dark-wash jeans with slip on shoes.

He watched as she stuffed her pursue into the long pocket across her middle before she threw him the keys.

"You're locking up."

* * *

There was something unsettling familiar about how Katie fought her way through the crowd, something familiar about the annoyed looks that they shot her as they made way for her, the look of pity filling some of their eyes as they watched, the look of surprise and slight shock when they realised that Loki was with her when he wrapped a hand around one of her handles.

He remembered those looks. He got them all the time when he would ran through the castle, annoyed looks would be shot towards him as they were forced to move for him while Thor would get fond smiles.

The look of pity was when Loki showed off one of his magic tricks to the court—he could always tell what they were thinking. Poor boy, can't be a real warrior so he's plays with magic.

The look of surprise and slight shock always burned him as he walked with Thor—or behind Thor, in his shadow more like.

A few young teenagers made snide remarks as they moved out of his and Katie's way, making his hand tighten in anger around the smooth plastic handle. Katie didn't twitch, she didn't tense, and she just kept going.

He could remember the snide remarks his style of fighting earned, how the rest of Asgard thought using his magic was cowardly. How he fought nothing like Thor, which he had always been glad about. He wasn't an idiot that ran into battle without thinking.

It was disgusting how they treated one of their fallen warriors. Loki knew Katie was a warrior, would have realised that without her pointing a gun at him. It was in her eyes, the proud way she held herself, it was in the way she didn't even blink in fear when arguing with him despite knowing he wasn't human, it was in the distance gaze she had when she wasn't distracted by her entrainment systems, the look of remembered pain and horrors that marred her face.

The bitten off scream last-night spoke of her being in battle and still suffering from the nightmares it brought. A war that confined her to a chair, a war where she returned from and to a near empty apartment with no one to help her.

He could still remember his shock and surprise when he took in the small apartment as Katie watched her TV when he first arrived.

The kitchen was cramped into the corner, a small fridge/freezer, a small and old cooker, a microwave close to the edge of her counter, a small wooden table with one chair pushed almost fully against the wall.

There was a bookshelf filled with her games and DVDs beside her boxy TV with those two systems hooked up to it, an armchair angled slightly at the TV and a table beside where she had parked her wheelchair.

There was no door to the bedroom, a bed pushed against the wall with a single blanket, and a wardrobe and set of drawers for her clothing.

He knew for a fact that she couldn't move her bulky wheelchair that far into her bedroom, he had heard her drag and pull herself across the side of her bath to get to the toilet. He hadn't offered to help her, he was sure she wouldn't want his help or anyone's help.

How could anyone put their hurt warriors in such a place to live and just leave them to tend to themselves? Did they just forget about them because they were no longer useful in battle?

Loki didn't know what to make of the growing feeling of kinship he felt to this mortal, he didn't understand why he wanted to snap at the mortals' staring/glaring/and muttering at her.

He just knew he didn't like seeing himself in her. Because it was obvious she had handled and was still handling her problems better than he was.


	3. Chapter 3

The first time Loki cooked, he decided to make simple baked beans on toast. He ended up burning both the toast and the beans to Katie's amusement.

She ate a plate of warmed-up egg-fried rice while he ate the burnt toast and beans with a grumpy frown on his face.

The look on his face must have been pitiful when he finished as she let him sleep on her bed while she awkwardly pulled herself on to the armchair and slept there.

Katie woke up to him setting to plates of beans on toast on to the table—the toast was still rather crispy and the sauce of the beans was mostly gone. Still, she ate it and the smug look on his thin face was almost enough to make up the fact that she wasn't eating egg-fried rice for once.

Katie had been eating egg-fried rice ever since she was discharged from the army, she had gotten tired with the plain and simple food that they gave them when they were overseas. And damn it, she had missed a good Chinese take-a-way's egg-fried rice.

She would admit to being a tad overzealous about it, but she hadn't minded and no one had been around to tell her to change her diet. Until she decided to let an alien stay with her, then of course the said alien decided to complain about her diet. Alien Bastard.

After breakfast, Katie decided to introduce Loki to gaming. He sucked, and she laughed.

* * *

Card games was more Loki's speed, Katie knew she wouldn't have a nickel to her name if they had bet money.

She had made him agree to betting skittles—which he seemed to like. How couldn't he not like tasting the rainbow? Though for some reason he liked the blackcurrant skittles a lot, which Katie hated. So he could gorge himself on them for all she cared.

They swapped family stories as they tried to put the other of their game, they were also trying to one up each other.

Katie had a drunk and violent man for a father, an abused and overly loving mother, and a sister that left the moment she turned eighteen and had never tried to contact her. While Loki had a loving adopted mother—the only family member that he claimed as his—that treated both him and his adopted brother the same, an arrogant and muscle bound older brother that almost everyone preferred over him, and a distant adopted father that lied to him his whole life.

They both had fucked up families. It was sad that they would rather talk about their fucked up families than anything important going on at the moment.

Loki had a harder time sharing stories of his family, his wound was still weeping blood and hadn't healed. Katie's wound had already turned into an old scar.

* * *

Loki hated day-time TV, he hated talk shows and soap operas. He thought the Almighty Johnsons were amusing enough, action films seemed to be the same despite them meant to be different stories, and his favourite movie was the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Though she teased him about it being his favourite, Katie was sure that he liked it because the smart outcast guy was the hero. Katie was sure he could relate to Dave Stutler.

She continued to take the armchair, sometimes her bed felt too soft, and she didn't mind giving Loki her bed.

He continued to learn to cook—beans on toast was one of the only meals he could cook without burning it.

She taught him about the world, about the technology that had been built and such as well as getting proper clothes for him.

Loki could perhaps see what had changed Thor, he still hated most of the humans though he would admit that Katie was different.

They slowly became friends.

* * *

The day Katie would acknowledge them becoming friends is the day that he used his magic to let her walk. Loki didn't magically heal her, it had been an illusion. But to her, it meant everything.

Loki had remembered when she almost off-handily mentioned that she missed running through grass. He had heard the barely hidden bitterness and anger, and had done something about it.

It had been on one of her bad days, when she hated everything. She hated her wheelchair, hated her useless legs, hated that she couldn't make them even twitch, hated that Loki could walk freely, hated he was still hanging around, hated the TV, hated all the games she normally loved, and even hated her beloved egg-fried rice.

It had happened a few times in the two months that Loki had stayed with her, but never as bad as that day. Loki didn't know it was the April 17th was the day she woke up in the hospital and found out she would never walk again.

The illusion was simple, they were in a grassy meadow with the sun shining down on her. She had still been in her sleeping shorts and a tank top, her skinny legs were back to her toned ones and held her steady.

Feeling the grass stab at her feet and tickle her toes made her eyes feel wet, and she let out a choked sobbed laugh.

It was only for a day, one last day that she could run until her legs burnt and her lungs heaved like she used too. It was heaven.

And Loki just watched her with a small smile.

Later that night when he carried her to her bed, he whispered that he wouldn't leave her and she let him share the bed because she believed him.

* * *

April 30th is the day that Loki broke his promise and disappears.

It's 4th May when she finds out about the attack in Germany on the news. It's later that day when New York turns into a battleground, and somehow she isn't surprised that her apartment has a magic shield around it.

That doesn't stop her moving to the front door and shooting at the aliens—they destroyed her favourite Chinese after all.


	4. Chapter 4

Katie would never been able to tell what brought her to that bridge in New York, though she knew she had chosen right when agents showed up to remove people.

She had been stubborn, rude and threatening when they tried to get her to move from her place.

So when the little team of heroes arrived with Loki, she was in the middle of a standoff. Her gun was pressed against one Agent's stomach while the other was pointed towards the other agents that had pointed their own guns at her.

Before the team could do more than blink, bemused, at the sight of S.H.I.E.L.D agents pointing their guns at a woman in a wheelchair, with her pointing guns back, Loki had moved.

He didn't try to run away, he moved towards the woman.

Thor watched as his brother—and he would always be his brother—leaned protectively over the damaged mortal woman, magic crackling in anger as he glared with poisonous green eyes towards the agents that dared pull a gun on her.

He had never seen Loki so protective over anyone before, and he never thought he would see his brother protective over a mortal.

"About time you're sorry ass showed up." The woman snorted, her words obviously directed to Loki when he tilted his head in acknowledgment.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Since when do S.H.I.E.L.D point guns to women in wheelchairs?" Tony Stark blurted out. "And when does Loki know any human well enough to be nice to them?"

"The fucker isn't being nice to me." The woman said with a sneer. "He's just trying to get on my good side since his fuckin' damned aliens blew up my favourite Chinese place. Which I know you did on purpose asshole!"

The last bit was near-shouted at Loki, who only shrugged when she threw a glare at him. His mask made him mostly unable to defend himself—not that he would, he really did make them destroy that Odin cursed place.

"Umm." Steve Rodgers spoke out. "I'm confused."

"You're not the only one." Bruce Banner commented.

"Perhaps if the agents tuck away their toys and back off, we can find out what the hell is going on." Tony said, ignoring the glares of the agents.

"Stand down boys." Natasha ordered, she was curious why this woman was here and how she knew Loki well enough that she didn't blink when she insulted him and he didn't react to it.

Disgruntled, the agents did what she told them and backed off. Leaving the mismatched group of heroes, the chained villain and a wheelchair bound woman that obvious knew said villain.

The next moment after they backed off and she tucked her guns away, her fists drove themselves into Loki's stomach.

"You fuckin' bastard!" She screamed at him as she continued to hit him, Loki doing nothing to stop her. "Do you know how fuckin' long it took me to find the best damn Chinese in that fuckin' shithole of a city?"

Loki only looked smug as he stared silently down at her.

"Months! Months of my life I'm never going to get back! And because of you and that stupid hero team, I have to move to fuckin' England! I hate the cold!"

He only raised an eyebrow in question.

"There's no superheroes in England, which means there is no villains wanting to destroy innocent cities with some freaky damned army." She explained as she finished hitting him, her fists now red.

Loki rested one hand on her cheek, his expression something that only Thor had seen on his face before. Remorse.

"Yeah, yeah." She shook her head though not enough to remove his hand. "I know you're sorry."

"You know, I really began to believe you when you said you would stay." She whispered to him.

Loki closed his eyes, almost like he was in pain, before resting his forehead on top of her golden locks.

Thor may have been the only one that felt Loki's magic brush around the woman, but they all saw the sad smile the curled the woman's lips slightly before she pushed Loki gently back and fixing a piercing blue stare on to Thor.

"Oi, Muscles." She called, looking annoyed that the team was basically gaping at her and Loki. "If I give Loki some things, will you make sure he keeps them when your father locks him up?"

"Of course, my lady." Thor agreed with a smile while she snorted at the 'my lady'.

She pulled the plain black backpack off her wheelchair and shoved into Loki's surprised hands.

"There's a few posters for lighting up your cell, a book on cooking, a deck of cards and blackcurrant skittles." She informed him. "The book is for when you break out and come and find me, I want a meal that isn't burnt."

Loki nodded, merriment crinkling his eyes as Thor watched them intently. This woman, Loki obviously cared about her, could be the key to changing Loki.

"I'll be in England remember that." Another nod. "Don't wait too long, I'm mortal and I will die remember." Another nod.

"My lady?" Thor questioned making her look at him with a scowl as he stepped forward and Loki to narrow his eyes at the blond god. "Perhaps you want to come with us?"

She gaped at him as Loki stared wide-eyed as his brother, and the rest of the Avengers gaped at Thor too.

"The hell?" She asked weakly.

"Come with us." Thor repeated firmly as Loki turned to look at the woman.

She looked back to Loki and Thor watched as they had a silent conversion, his confidence growing.

"My name's Katie." She called to Thor as she moved herself forward in her chair after removing the belt around her waist, taking the bag from Loki and shrugging it on her shoulders. "I'm no one's fuckin' lady."

Katie looped her arms around Loki's neck and he lifted her easily, chained hands hooking under her useless legs.

"Is this kidnapping?" Tony questioned the others.

"She's going with him freely." Bruce pointed out as Thor began his joyful goodbyes.

"Can they do this?" Steve questioned as Thor walked towards his brother and Katie, the cube device in hand.

"I don't think we can stop them." Natasha stated, one eyebrow still raised in surprise with the turn of events.

"This is the weirdest moment of my life." Tony declared making Clint nod in agreement before the two gods and one mortal disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Clint could only think; what the hell? Seriously, who decided to go off to some alien world with the alien that had just attacked and tried to rule their home?


End file.
